Pushing The Envelope
by enchantment1972
Summary: The Sixth Doctor and Rose Tyler literally rise to the occasion when they escape from prison. **First in the I Think You Need A Doctor series**


**Author's Note:** In hot air ballooning, an envelope is a bag that is capable of containing heated air. The Balloonist Prayer was written by an unknown author.

Also, I know that this version of Six is more gentle than what we're generally used to, but I still remember all of the scenes that he had with Jamie in the Two Doctors so I know for a fact that he's capable of toning his irritability down a notch or two. :)

**Disclaimer:** I do not own anything in relation to Dr. Who.

"A hot air balloon?" questions Rose curiously as they soar high above the prison.

The Sixth Doctor answers with a shrug. "It's better than a zeppelin."

She wears a soft smile as she nods and then turns to regard him with a speculative glance. "Have you ever flown one of these before?"

In response to her question, he begins to recite the Balloonist Prayer.

"The winds have welcomed you with softness

The sun has blessed you with his warm hands

You have flown so high and so well

That God has joined you in your laughter and set you gently back into the loving arms of Mother Earth."

"That's lovely," muses Rose before shooting him an extremely pointed look, "but that's not an answer."

The Doctor huffs in exasperation. "Rose, this _was_ a rescue attempt and one that was quite successful I might add, due to my brilliance. With all of the roads being so heavily monitored and the prison standing on the edge of a cliff, I didn't have a lot of options and this gave us the best chance for escape."

She gives his hand a quick squeeze as she concedes, "I know, it's just that I still can't believe that I was arrested because I said the word 'chips'! Honestly, how on Earth does the word 'chips' translate into a filthy proposition?"

"Just be grateful that you didn't ask for vinegar," quips the Doctor as he scans the ground for any sign of the TARDIS.

Rose peers at him suspiciously and questions, "By the way, being as brilliant as you are, shouldn't you have warned me about this? Especially since you told me that you've been here before?"

"That was a different area of the planet, in a different time and the dialect has changed completely!" defends the Doctor hotly. "And how was I supposed to know that you wanted fish and chips?"

Her eyes blaze with ire when she argues, "Because you knew that I was for peckish for it, because _you _suggested it!"

"Well, that's gratitude for you," he mutters petulantly. His expression changes to one of delight when he finally spies the TARDIS. "Aha! There it is!" He glances at her smugly and smoothly declares, "I told you that I'd get us out of this."

"Oh, well, thank you so much," she responds sarcastically. "I'm so sorry that you had to go out of you way to free me from my shackles in yet _another _prison."

He releases a snort of annoyance. "You act as though you've been in so many jail cells since you started traveling with me."

"Oh, please!" she retorts scornfully. "The only person who's visited more prisons than me lately is Johnny Cash!"

The Doctor rolls his eyes as the balloon drifts closer to the TARDIS. "I don't see what you're complaining about, I'm the one who had to halt my negotiations for a case of Zeiton-7 crystals to come and save you! Besides, you wanted to see the sights. A Dnahsifian prison is simply another aspect of their native life. Granted, it's a dark, dank and rather depressing side of their life, but it's still another aspect none the less."

Rose meets his gaze head on while noting, "Apparently, the balloon isn't the only one full of hot air."

The Doctor arches an eyebrow as he glances in her direction while pulling on the control line to open the vent and begin their descent. "Am I to take it that you didn't have the easiest of times then?"

Rose's jaw sets firmly and she glares at him as she shares, "Let's just say that the body search was a little more hands on than usual."

"Oh?" he replies with seemingly mild interest. "I wasn't aware that one could be hands on when one had tentacles."

His flippant remark is offset by the slight slump of his shoulders and the guilty expression that crosses his face before he turns his head to the side to avoid her gaze. She scoots closer to him and playfully bumps his shoulder. "I'm sorry that your negotiations were interrupted."

A smirk plays about his lips as he accuses, "No, you're not." He watches a stray tendril of hair blow about her face from the wind and reaches out to tuck it behind her ear. His fingers trail down her face to cup her cheek as he whispers, "And neither am I," before he leans down to kiss her.

She eagerly returns his kiss and easily matches his passion until an intense need for oxygen forces them to part, albeit not very far. He rests his forehead against hers and quietly murmurs, "You do realize how much that I love you, don't you?"

Rose smiles brightly and pecks him softly on the lips before she replies, "I know," a hint of tongue poking out between her teeth, "and that's all that's _constantly _saving you from the Tyler wrath."

He chuckles knowingly and admits, "Why else do you think that I declare my love so often?" She mock gasps in outrage before swatting his arm and giving in to laughter.

Their laughter is cut short when they abruptly start plummeting towards the ground; the sudden movement of the basket knocking Rose to the side. "Doctor, what's happening?"

The Doctor does a rapid check of the equipment and instantly spots the problem. "There's a tear in the envelope," he calls over to her. "We're going to crash unless…"

"Unless what?" she yells back, straining to be heard over the wind rushing past them. She watches him dig through a box at the bottom of the basket until he releases a cry of victory when he withdraws a pack.

He slides the pack's straps up his arms as he shouts, "Unless we use this!" When she simply stares back at him, pretty sure that she knows what he's about to suggest but unwilling to verify her assumption, he bellows, "Have you ever used a parachute before?"

Her mouth drops open just in time to scream as he jerks her to him and offers hopefully, "Soft winds and gentle landings!" Then he lifts her into his arms bridal style and steps onto the edge of the basket and jumps off while shouting, "Geronimo!" His surprise doesn't arise from his cry being accompanied from the piercing string of choice and colorful curses from Rose; it comes from the fact that he had no idea that she had such an accomplished vocabulary.

"There we go," he congratulates her as he helps to untangle her from the chute, "Now, that wasn't so bad, was it?"

His superior Gallifreyan hearing allows him to hear her various heated and muffled responses from under the parachute, thus giving him fair warning to evade the hand flying towards him.

After throwing off the last bit of the chute with her arm, she lets loose with a growl before jabbing him in the chest repeatedly in order to emphasize each word. "You owe me a proper holiday!" He stumbles back in an effort to avoid further abuse as she continues to advance on him, a parody of her earlier confrontation with the local officers when she attempted to make her first escape from their clutches. "I want a holiday with no running, no prisons and the _only_ reason that I could possibly be chained up is for a far more pleasurable nature!"

His eyes go wide as saucers at this statement and he flushes beet red in embarrassment while he watches her kick aside the bit of parachute that's tripped her up and causes her to fall into his arms.

Catching her easily, he flounders for a cool and casual rebuttal and blurts out, "So, I'm assuming that chains forged in the heart of a dwarf star would be a bit of overkill then?"

Staring at him in disbelief, she pushes herself out of his arms before shaking her head at him and lifting her hands to rub at the sudden throbbing in her temples. His gaze is full of compassion and concern as he takes her hands into his own and reverently kisses each one and then leads her to the TARDIS.

When they arrive at the ship's door, he reluctantly lets go of her hand to pull out his key from the pocket of his waistcoat and opens the lock but not the door. He turns back to her and acknowledges, "You do deserve a proper holiday, we both do, and we're going to take one starting right now!"

He grasps his lapels, puffed up with pride as he proclaims, "I'm taking you to dinner and a Broadway show!"

Rose watches him with a dubious expression and inquires, "Dinner? Where?"

He sports a huge grin as he insists, "Anywhen and anywhere! Backwards, forwards, anyplace in the universe that you want to go!" He slowly approaches her and gazes at her conspiratorially. "We have all of time and space at our disposal, simply name the place."

"Hmmm," contemplates Rose. "And what about the Broadway show?"

"What else, Rose?" he asks innocently as he jiggles the feline pin on his lapel. "Cats!"

While Rose laughs, the Doctor walks over and opens the door in a sweeping gesture. As she makes her way over to him, he extends his hand to clasp one of her own and places his other hand on the small of her back to escort her inside.

He heads straight over to the console to begin the dematerialization sequence when Rose queries, "So, Doctor, how do you feel about having dinner at my mum's?"

He instantly stills, then he straightens, and then he strides towards the door. "Where are you going?" she asks confusedly.

"Back to the prison," he answers dryly.

She giggles and grabs his arm to tug him back to her. "I was only joking, Doctor."

His eyes reflect his relief as he tilts his head until it's touching hers. "Promise?" he asks with a trace of suspicion.

She stands on her tip toes to kiss him lovingly and thoroughly and by the time that she's done, she's able to pull back to view a satisfied Doctor with a very dazed expression. Because of this, she simply can't resist teasing him just a bit. "Besides, she's not ready for two visits in one week. I've already told her that we'll have tea with her on Sunday."

"What?" he yelps helplessly. Watching her serious expression morph instantly into one of amusement, he growls, "Rose Tyler," before giving chase around the console.

With a squeal of delight, she tries to outrun him resulting in a lost cause that ends before it has barely even begun. After a few flicks of switches, the twist of a dial or two and one last pull of a lever, a wheezing and groaning sound soon fills the air and the last sounds that are heard in that particular area of Dnahsif are the echoes of the Doctor and Rose's laughter, just before the TARDIS vanishes completely.

**THE END**


End file.
